I groaned as I tried to move, my back almost biting me with pain as I attempted to twist it, my legs refused to move, too; they were weighted down by a soft pressure that was dulled by a layer of a silky duvet. My hand was encased in cold, I felt it shiver as I tried to move it under the covers, but then I realised that it wasn't cold holding it, it was a hand; long and slim fingers gripping my skin and holding it there.

I felt my heart stop as I realised where I was; Loki's bedroom, trapped between his cold body and wall. His head lay on my thighs as my back leant on the wall, my hand on his back and in his; stuck there whilst he slept like a blissful angel. The sick spilled in my stomach as I saw the smile and I felt his strong arms try to wrap around me more; I jumped, twisting, turning and spinning away from him as I fell off of the side of the bed and wrenched my hand from his; landing on my arse as I slipped from the comfortable mattress.

Loki yelped and shot up like a bullet, his eyes scanning the room with anger and blood lust, then it vanished as he saw me on the ground; a patronising look taking over his face as he smiled down at his favoured pet.

As he slid forward, I shifted back, his hand outstretched ready to touch me but I already felt sick enough and I didn't need his sympathy and gentle eyes to trig me guilt.

I jumped up and moved back, shaking and breathing deeply; Loki frowned at me but moved back as I rose up, sliding to the door and over to the control panel but Loki had stepped forward and grabbed at me.

"What are you doing? We could spend the whole-."

"No." I snapped, my voice acting out before I could stop it. A dark cloud passed over his eyes like a snake's shock reaction but retracted slowly. "You have a World to run; you can't spend your time mothering me."

He looked into my eyes for a while and I tried hard to keep his gaze, if I even tried to look away he'd realise that I was lying and if he realised that I was lying; he'd kill me.

He nodded and let me run from the room, heading along a corridor and down the next maze till I was completely lost, cowering in a dark corner till I was knelt down, my knees against my chest and trying to breath deep.

"Forgive me, Steve. Please…" I whispered, into the top of my legs. My forehead brushing against them as I shook it, trying to rid myself of images of Steve watching me and Loki…

Why me? He could have taken any woman on this pitiful planet and he chose me. He could have had the most beautiful woman in the world but he chose me. And I know, he wanted to torment the Avengers and show them that he had something over them, he wanted to make Tony scared and pitiful and pathetic but why did he have to make it personal with me? He could have locked me up and kept me like a dog but he gave me whatever I wanted, he let me eat, he let me shower, he let me live. So why did he drag me into this like he cared?

He couldn't care. He cared about no one but himself.

"Tory?" I looked up as I heard the voice intruding the silence, I scanned the darkness and saw them; the Gamma radiation scientist looked down at me and sighed, his eyes blinking for a long moment before he put the coffee to the side. He put out a foot to walk forward but I soared up and ran into his arms, my head knocking into his in my haste. His weak arms wrapped around me and kept me close, the way that he rubbed the small of my back in a circle reminded me of how Tony would calm me down; tiny circles traced on my arms and back till I was tired.

"What happened?"

"…he kissed me." I mumbled into the fabric of the worn black shirt, his collar ruffling as he moved to look at me. "And I liked it."

I felt Bruce breath and then exhale, saying nothing and thinking nothing. The best thing about the man was that he was quiet when you needed him to be.

"What am I doing Bruce?" I asked, pulling away so that I could look at him, his eyes frowning down at me calmly. "I'm supposed to be focused on dislodging him and instead I'm making out with him like some doe eyed teenager."

Bruce sighed and put his hand on my arm, shaking me lightly. "You've got to stop being so hard on yourself. Last night, you were weak and in shock; Loki knew that that's how he managed to worm his mouth onto yours. Don't worry about it; it wasn't an actual kiss because you weren't actually fully there. You were dazed and confused, that's how he managed to kiss you."

I let Bruce talk as I watched him; let him think that I thought, let him think that you weren't fully there, in the end it won't matter.

He began to lead me back to the lab, telling me that he'd been down there for a walk as we entered the range of the cameras; his arm stuck on my shoulder and his side close to mine as we walked.

"I've began work on the research; what do you want to do today?"

"Take a sample of your blood and analyse it, compare it to a normal human's and see if there's difference when you attack them with cancer cells." I muttered, moving over to the seat and flinging myself down onto it.

He worked soundlessly all day as I sat there, occasionally looking through his microscope and staring at the red blob as he giggled excitedly, then Larson walked into the room, a smug and superior smirk on his bruised face.

"You two have to come with me." He ordered, his hand moving out and seizing my wrist dragging me up onto my feet and throwing me into the hallway. Bruce tensed but Larson held his gun, still in the holster, tightly. Jerking his hand forward and pressed a button on a gold device when Bruce failed to move, the middle aged man choked slightly but stumbled forward, letting the cruel man take his elbow and force him forward.

We were pushed into the throne room and shoved onto our knees, for the first time since the broadcast, Larson's hand going to my throat when I tried to get up and slamming me back down. Then he left me and the door opened and Loki walked in, his head low and something in his hand.

He looked up as he reached me and frowned, his head casting around and his eyes slanting as he saw the men watching. He growled at them and glared till they turned away, their heads down but the smirks still in place. His hands clenched but he ignored it and swung his green cape off of his back and wound it around my shoulders, clasping at it the neck with his hands as he looked down at me.

"I did not think that I would have to warn you about walking half naked in front of cruel men." He muttered, his eyes flicking to Bruce and then back to me.

Sighing, he stood tall and proud as he moved away and over to the front of a table, his face suddenly changing from a calm expression to a harsher one; he sat down on the head of the table and opened his hands, flicking at the table so that we could all see what he was…

No. No, no, no, no… God, no.

It was Tony's California penthouse, on fire, with the caption below it reading 'The terrorist group, known as the Avengers, have broken in to Stark Penthouse and been killed by Chatari forces.'

"No." I heard from next to me, Bruce's voice hard and cold and strong. He looked from me to Loki and shifted closer to me, glaring as the God growled, his hands grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him.

"Tory, it's not true. Listen to me; it's just propaganda, its lies." His warm hand moving to my jaw and keeping my gaze on him, my breathing coming out quick and deep as I thought about them. Tony being burnt as he attempted to salvage his armour; Thor being held down as the Chatari stabbed him over and over; Natasha running and being shot in the legs; Clint being blinded; Steve frozen in ice as he watched them all die… "Tory! Stop it! They're fine! Stop it, breath slowly. They're fine."

"Oh, I wish that that were true, Monster, but they're not entirely fine." Loki's voice said; ringing out, around the room and around our heads. I felt the tears stinging my eyes again and I blinked furiously, pushing them back as his words filled images in my head again. "Whilst my brother and your guardian escaped with an 'Iron Man' suit, they left their shield behind."

He shot his hand out, gracefully, letting the contents fly out of his hand and into my face. I yelped and grabbed at it, pulling it down so that I could look at it…

Steve's mask was lying limp in my hands, corners signed and burnt and the fabric torn and ripped. It lay flat and cold on my palms, the blue faded and blurred as my eyes began to fill with tears. I felt them drop from the corners to the thick material.

Bruce grabbed at it and took it from me, clutching it as his voice let out a guttural roar and he jumped to his feet, the muscles rippling beneath his skin and tearing the shirt as they expanded at an alarming rate. But then he let out a scream and fell back, the skin still expanding and growing and the limbs still kicking out but he was between changes so he couldn't breathe or think straight; Loki was killing him.

"Change back!" I yelled, standing up and running to the Hulk, tripping to my knees next to him and shaking him. "Change back! Please, you'll die if you don't!" Still the Hulk remained, fighting against the magic collar on his neck, spitting and hissing as he attempted to breath. "Please, Hulk, I need him. Give him back."

His green eyes caught mine and I saw the sympathy there and the agony and the pain and he gave up, letting go of his hate to his humanity and letting Bruce slide back into place. He lay on his back, breathing in the air and rubbing his neck, looking at me with shame but I didn't care. I let my head rest on his shoulder and breathed with him, feeling safe in his arms as Loki and his armed men bore down on us.

"Let her be." Bruce mumbled, his hand finding mine and clutching it tightly. "She's physically shattered-."

"She has to answer my questions-."

"She doesn't have any answers, neither of us do. How were we supposed to know what they were planning locked up here like dogs?" Bruce spat at the God, unfazed by his sharp tone.

There was a silence in the room and then someone moved forward, taking me and Bruce out of the room and leaving us in his. Alone and scared, we huddled together, silently and shattered as the news washed over us. Our friend had died in a valiant attempt to help aid the World, the Avengers were one down.

"They need you more than ever," I whispered into Bruce's shoulder as he stopped my hiccups. "They need him."

"I know; we need to do it soon, then." He agreed his voice unwavering and sturdy as he voiced his complicity for the first time. I nodded and looked up at him, watching the lines on his face and wondering whether I'd see them after his escape. No, was the answer, if Hulk escaped, I would die.

"Tomorrow."

"How do you-?" He asked, gesturing to the collar and frowning but I interrupted him again.

"Let me worry about that, just give me a hug." I finished pathetically, wrapping my weak arms around his neck and holding onto him. Then something cut into my arm and picked at the skin, slicing it cleanly. I let out a gasp and pulled away to look at the wound, watching the blood move down to my wrist. The lump moved across and my fingertips brushed at the blood.

Bruce frowned with me and let me move forward to look at the collar, his frown increasing as I let out a laugh and smile, practically jumping with joy.

"Hey, Tory, you wanna share the good news with the owner?" He chirped as I pulled back and held his face happily.

"You, Mr Hulk, are a remarkable man." I smiled, looking into his eyes with praise and watching the beast respond with a laugh and a shrug.

"Uh, would you two like to have the room or can I please know what you're both so happy about?" Bruce snapped impatiently.

"The Hulk has chipped the collar so that in your next transformation, it'll break, easily."

The smile on Bruce's face was the most amazing smile I'd ever seen on his face, it de-aged him by at least ten years, taking away the wrinkles and bags under his eyes as he thought about his freedom.

"Tell me that you're telling the truth." He said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"Of course I am." I swore.

Bruce was going to be free, he was getting out of here, and he was going to be safe. That was the best piece of news I'd received since I'd been dumped here; I was so happy that I forgot about Steve. But could you blame me, really? My friend and my rock was finally getting out of hell and was going to go to help save the world; as much as I needed him to save me from the darkness of Loki with his protective hugs I knew that I could repay his kindness now. Besides, I was going to see Steve soon; I wouldn't be lonely for long.

Can't tell whether the madness has gotten to Tory or to me but her thoughts are pretty spaced out just take that as exhaustion and relief and embracing her death. I feel relieved to write this story, I've been so tired recently and this is just a weight, although I do have a French and Singing Exam that I need to focus on so I doubt that I'll write a lot the next couple of weeks but I will try to get the next chapter up soon. I hope that you like it and that you keep reading. Thank you so much for the love I really appreciate it.

P.S. if anyone can draw or is a would be artist I'd love to talk to you or if anyone has any prompts or ideas for another story I'd love to hear those too.